i. India
and Japan have agreed to collaborate closely in defense production,
including on dual-use technologies.

ii. Defence
Minister Arun Jaitley and his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera signed the
agreement during India-Japan annual defense ministerial dialogue in
Tokyo. The two sides also agreed to ramp up counter-terror cooperation,
besides deepening engagement among navies, air forces and ground forces of the
two countries.

2. Ashok
Leyland Inks Pact with Rosoboronexport, ELCOM

i. The defense entity
of Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland had
signed an MoU with Rosoboronexport, Russia, to supply tracked vehicle
solutions to the armed forces.

ii. Rosoboronexport
(ROE) is the only State organization in Russia for export of the
entire range of military products and technologies. Ashok Leyland signed
another MoU with ELCOM Group which is also emerging as a
significant player in strategic electronics, avionics, and tactical
communication globally.

3. BSNL,
Coriant Tie up to Chart 5G

i.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) entered into an agreement
with US-based networking solutions provider Coriant to chart
the path to 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) in India.

ii. The
MoU was signed between BSNL and Coriant for laying the foundation for
innovation in network architectures and services leveraging 5G, IoT, Software
Defined Networking/Network Functions Virtualization (SDN/NFV), and mobile edge
computing technologies.

4. Exide
Life, PMC Bank Tie up

i. Exide
Life Insurance has announced a partnership with Punjab &
Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank) to offer its protection and
savings products to the latter’s customers.

i. NITI
Aayog has constituted an Expert Task Force to provide a major
thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports. It will be headed
by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar.

ii. Members
of the Task force include CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretaries of Departments of
Commerce, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Economic Affairs and Textiles.
Leading economists and industry experts are also members of the Task Force,
which will submit its report by November 2017.

6. UJALA
Scheme Launched in Melaka, Malaysia

i. Energy
Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under Ministry of Power,
Government of India has launched UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable
Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia.

ii. The
Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Utama Ir. Hj. Idris
Bin Hj. Haron. Under this scheme, each household in Melaka will get 10
high-quality 9-watt LED bulbs.

7. Andhra
Pradesh Signs MoU to Build India's First Hyperloop

i. The
Andhra Pradesh government has signed an MoU with the US-based
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT)to build India's
first Hyperloop system. The planned project is aimed at connecting
cities Amaravati and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, supposedly covering the
distance of over 35 km in just five minutes.

ii. The
AP Economic Development Board (AP-EDB) and HTT signed the MoU in Amaravati.
Under the MoU, a six-month feasibility study would be conducted from October.

8. Indo-US
Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2017

i. A
joint military training, Exercise Yudh Abhyas-2017 will be
conducted at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, USA from 14
to 27 September 2017 between India and the USA.

ii. .Exercise
Yudh Abhyas is one of the largest joint running military training and defense
corporation endeavors between India and USA. This will be the 13th
edition of the joint exercise hosted alternately between the two
countries.

9. SBI
Life Insurance Gets SEBI approval for Rs 8,400 crore IPO

i. SBI
Life Insurance has received approval from the Securities and
Exchange Board of India for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) of
up to Rs 8,400 crore ($1.3 billion).

ii. The
IPO will involve 120 million secondary shares or 12 per cent of the insurer's
equity capital. State Bank of India which currently owns 70.1 per cent of the
insurer, will sell 80 million shares and BNP Paribas Cardif, holder of
a 26 per cent stake, will sell 40 million.

10. GIFT
City Wins ASSOCHAM Services Excellence Awards

i. India’s
first operational Smart City and IFSC, Gujarat International
Finance-Tec City (GIFT City), has won the prestigious Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Services Excellence
Award.

ii. At
a summit held in New Delhi, GIFT SEZ was honored for its contribution to the
growth of the International Financial Services and Technology Hub in India.

11. Parineeti
Chopra, First Indian Woman Ambassador For Tourism Australia

i.
Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra has been appointed as the
first Indian woman ambassador in 'Friends of Australia' (FOA) advocacy panel by
Tourism Australia.

ii. The
'Friends of Australia' program has been devised as a way of fostering mutually
beneficial, long-term friendship with those that Tourism Australia regards as
unique storytellers. The panel also includes influential personalities like
chef Sanjeev Kapoor and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle.

12. Shyam
Saran's Book 'How India Sees the World' Launched

i. The
book of Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran named “How India Sees the
World: Kautilya to the 21st Century”- was launched by former Prime
Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

ii. In
the book, Mr. Saran records the crucial meeting of the CCS (Cabinet
Committee on Security) on the eve of India-Pakistan Defence Secretary-level
talks in May 2006.

13. India
to Host Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in 2019

i. India
will host the 2019 edition of the Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior)
Weightlifting Championships.

ii. The
Executive Board of Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation met at Gold Coast,
Australia and decided to allot the 2019 edition of the competitions
to India. The current edition of the tournament is being held at the Gold
Coast, Australia.